Bedhead

Good morning sunshine! Ya-she's a cutie.

Hickory Run

We got to go camping this weekend at Hickory Run State Park. I just love an excuse to eat s'mores and smell like campfire! It was a pretty low-key camping trip but good quality family time. I believe the funniest moment happened when we were collecting firewood. Jeremy was busy cutting down a dead tree while Cambrie and I stayed out of the way. Once it fell over, all Cambrie could say was, "Uh oh. Uh oh." She says that whenever she drops something so it was really cute to see her worried about the tree.
We went on two short hikes while we were gone. One was to a boulder field left over from the ice-age. It was pretty neat to see all of those rocks. My only recommendation is don't walk over them with a baby on your hip. It is way too easy to slip, fall, and hit your head in order to protect the baby...

The other hike we went on was to Hawk Falls. It was a small waterfall but in a pretty area. Jeremy was kind of hoping to jump in, but Cambrie tested the water first and decided it was way too cold.

Trips like these make me wonder why we don't go camping more often. I love it!

Phillies vs. Brewers

Go Phillies! Going to a Phillies game has definitely been on our to-do list this summer, so I'm glad the opportunity came last Saturday. It was the Phillies vs. the Brewers, which was a high-stakes game since they were both trying for that wild card spot in the playoffs. We sat with the Ritters and the Millards in really nice seats. I have now decided to always sit on the front row with a child because then they can't bug the people ahead of us. Even though we didn't catch any foul balls or free Cracker Jacks, at least the Phillies won. Now is the time to talk to any customer service reps because it will be a happier Philadelphia. The only complaint I had was the humidity. Ugh! I can't wait for cooler weather so I won't be breathing water.

Take me out to the ball game!

Daddy-daughter bonding at the ball park. What's more American than that?

Cambrie looking HOT in her shades!

Gotta love the ball park dogs...mmm...

Animal sounds

I love how fast Cambrie is learning, it is so much fun! She absolutely loves reading books. She pulls off every book on the shelf at least five times a day so I can read them to her. This morning while we were looking through her animal book, this is what was said:

Me: What does a cow say?
Cambrie: Moo

Me: What does a horse say?
Cambrie: May may

Me: What does a sheep say?
Cambrie: Baa baa

Me: What does a lion say?
Cambrie: Wrar

Me: What does a cat say?
Cambrie: Hi!

Family Pictures

Yippee! We finally have updated family pictures. It's really only been a year since our last ones were taken, but when you have a baby that grows up so fast...you just have to stay on it. Thanks Amber, we love them!

Red Bull Soap Box Derby

Saturday was the notorious Red Bull Soap Box Derby. This is an event for those wishing to be extreme in a goofy (and occasionally drunk) sort of way. Red Bull hosts this event four times a year all over the country, so we were pretty lucky that it was just down the street from where we live. It didn't even hinder any plans that we were experiencing a tropical storm rainstorm-hey, it just makes it that much more extreme. Our location was pretty good. We were far enough down the course that the contestants had a lot of speed and were heading into a turn, so we expected a lot of crashing soap boxes. The show I didn't count on was the fraternity party across the street. The people there were very, very drunk. After only three soap boxes passed a man fell off the rocks behind us and had to be taken away by the paramedics; seconds after he was gone, a woman passed out on the balcony, fell off, and also had to be taken away; as she was leaving the inflatable Red Bull archway collapsed and they had to take it down; and interspersed through everything were beer-pouring fights and clothes-flinging competitions. Yes, it was a lot of fun...hmm...

The racers were fun to watch though. They got going so fast as they flew by. Some accidents were more extreme than others. The Mario and Luigi cart completely fell apart, another racer completely trashed the hay bails lining the course while doing barrel rolls, and other carts had their wheels collapse. The guys had a great time watching all the destruction.

All Cambrie wanted to do was play in the gutter, sit in the mud, and suck on dirty rocks-so much for staying dry under our umbrella or even staying in the stroller. She eventually fell asleep which was good for everyone involved.

The cars were going so fast it was hard to get a good picture of them. There were some dooseys of designs: the Mystery Mobile from Scooby-Doo, cheese steaks, a dragon, a "Married With Children" couch, an Amish buggy, and about 30 others. People are very creative.This is what happens when they wipe-out. Notice the cheering crowd :)

We went home sopping wet, and I mean sopping. I didn't realize how wet everything was until I looked at it again this morning and realized that Jeremy's shoes and the stroller are still drying out. If we had taken some extra ponchos we could have made a lot of cash. Rats! It was a fun experience though. Now when I watch the highlights on ESPN I can actually say, "I was there!"

So that's that

I still don't know what to make of it, but I have stopped teaching water aerobics at the YMCA. I started looking at my schedule for this fall and realized that I had a lot going on-too much. I was teaching water aerobics three mornings a week, swimming lessons on Fridays, coaching swim team two nights a week, teaching preschool two mornings a week, and still have my Primary president calling. Oh ya, I'm still a mom and wife. It was getting too crazy. I didn't have any time available to run errands, breathe, do anything fun with Cambrie, or go to playgroup (basically mommy therapy with the cover of being beneficial for our kids).

I had a one-week trail period this past week of doing half of it, and I couldn't. It didn't feel right. Every time I though about going to teach water aerobics I felt kind of sick. It shouldn't cause that much anxiety. It's not because of the ladies in my class-who are wonderful, or leaving Cambrie with a sitter-they're great too, it was something else. I was stressing about it all week, but once I finally made up my mind about quitting, I felt so relieved. That has to be a good sign that it's right. I felt so much better and I hadn't even told anyone.

I went and told my boss last Friday what was going on-keep in mind that I have never quit a job before. Yes, I have moved or it's been a seasonal position, but never actually quit. It was really hard to tell them, "I'm sorry. I know you're counting on me to be here and teach these classes, but I can't do it anymore. I need to be home with my daughter. Our situation has changed and I realize now more than ever how precious time with my daughter is. I'm a mom before anything else." I still plan on being available to substitute classes and I can still do swim team at nights, but nothing else. To be quite honest, I think they were as surprised as I was that all of that was coming out of my mouth. It was so surprising that neither one of us knows if I'm teaching tomorrow morning or not. I guess we'll see huh? But I feel so much better. Yes, I feel really bad about abandoning the ladies who come to my class and gave me such excellent reviews, but this is right for my family right now. I hope they understand that. We'll see, maybe life will calm down later and I can teach there again. Until then though I am a less stressed out mom.

Tommy Gunns

This is a shout-out to Tommy Gunns. Jeremy and I went there for dinner last night and thought it was super tasty. It sits right at the intersection where Kelly Drive meets Umbria and Ridge. Every time I drive by I think, "Hm, I love little hole-in-the-wall places. That BBQ is probably pretty good." I ended up with a Texas BBQ beef sandwich and Jeremy had a pulled pork sandwich with fries that were so seasoned I had to dust off my fingers after every one I ate-just the way I like it. So if you're in the mood for a little Philly flava, I recommend stopping in.

Renaissance Faire

Yesterday we took advantage of Jeremy's day off and our two-for-one passes, and went to the Renaissance Faire near Lancaster. Jeremy was sceptical at first, but when he learned that the costume-wearing people were going to be jousting, sword-fighting, and swallowing swords, he quickly changed his mind. It was really fun to be there, even though it also felt like the mecca for those who wish they had been born six hundred years ago or lived with King Arthur. The atmosphere felt very...fantasy-like. There were magical creatures, devil horns, suits of armor, jesters, minstrels, swords, dragon eggs, and of course huge turkey legs for lunch. I think this was the real selling point for Jeremy. It was very comic to watch him eat it: A-he's eating a huge piece of meat right off the bone, B-we were watching sword-fighting, and C-just combine the two and he felt like a king at court. "Off with its leg!"Cambrie got to touch this calm little dragon. No fire breathing here.We went to the jousting field about half-way through the day to watch the show. The King of Moscow was looking for a wife and the joust was part of the program. Thanks to "A Knight's Tale," I really like watching jousting. True, they were just acting, but it was still a lot of fun. I can't believe how it would have been when the stakes were so much higher years ago. Luckily for us (we were cheering for Moscovy) Czar Ivan won.There were a lot of great performances during the day. Jeremy's favorites were the sword swallowing show and the sword forging presentation. My favorites were a performance by Wolgemut (drums and ancient German bagpipes), a glass-blowing presentation, and Barely Balanced (an acrobatics show). They jokes kept me laughing and the stunts kept me amazed. They are all so incredibly strong! Here is a picture of me and Cambrie with one of the acrobats on his stilts.All in all, it was a very good day. Shows, sunburns, and sleep (Cambrie even took a nap for us). Thanks Renaissance Faire cast, characters, and comedians for a great Labor Day Monday.